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julieacf's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annrhub's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ljutavidra's review
4.0
Agata nam u ovoj knjizi kao Meri Vestmakot donosi jednu krajnje dramatičnu priču. Kroz reči Noreja, lika koji nije glavni lik ali koji nas vodi kroz celu priču, upoznajemo selo Sent Lu i njegove žitelje i njihove sudbine.
Ova knjiga me je podsetila zašto volim Agatu - veoma britko opisuje likove i zadire u njihovu suštinu. Njen talenat se najviše ogleda u poznavanju ljudske psihe i sa vrlo malo reči vam približi svakog lika. Najbrilijantnija je kad se bavi malim britanskim mestom i kad vrlo oštroumno ali suptilno izvuče na videlo sve one sitne ljudske slabosti.
Ovo bi mi bila njena najbolja knjiga pod pseudonimom koju sam do sad pročitala, da nije bilo tog vrlo nespretno izvedenog kraja koji mi je pokvario utisak. U svakom slučaju, zauzima visoko drugo mesto.
Ostaju mi još dve "Merine" knjige i radujem im se.
Moja trenutna top lista Meri Vestmakot romana:
Absent in the Spring
The Rose and the Yew Tree
The Burden
A Daughter's a Daughter
Ova knjiga me je podsetila zašto volim Agatu - veoma britko opisuje likove i zadire u njihovu suštinu. Njen talenat se najviše ogleda u poznavanju ljudske psihe i sa vrlo malo reči vam približi svakog lika. Najbrilijantnija je kad se bavi malim britanskim mestom i kad vrlo oštroumno ali suptilno izvuče na videlo sve one sitne ljudske slabosti.
Ovo bi mi bila njena najbolja knjiga pod pseudonimom koju sam do sad pročitala, da nije bilo tog vrlo nespretno izvedenog kraja koji mi je pokvario utisak. U svakom slučaju, zauzima visoko drugo mesto.
Ostaju mi još dve "Merine" knjige i radujem im se.
Moja trenutna top lista Meri Vestmakot romana:
Absent in the Spring
The Rose and the Yew Tree
The Burden
A Daughter's a Daughter
mary_soon_lee's review
4.0
There was a row of Agatha Christie's paperbacks on my parent's shelves, and I must have read a dozen of her crime novels when I was growing up. With the exception of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," they left no lasting impression on me. I think I'll remember "The Rose and the Yew Tree" for longer. Originally published under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, it is a mainstream novel with clever structure, unusual perspective, insight, romance elements, politics.
Spoilers ahead.
I liked the author's vivid sympathy and sharp understanding of her cast of characters, including Milly Burt, a woman caught in an abusive marriage, and Lady St. Loo, an elderly aristocrat, short of money but still living in a castle. The man picked to be the Conservative candidate in the election, John Gabriel, makes a fascinating central figure: at times sympathetic, at times repugnant. The chief heroine, Isabel, is striking too, in harmony with her internal life, passive to much of what's happening around her. I like the way that several of the minor characters -- including Teresa, the narrator's sister-in-law -- are given attention, moments to speak up and take on color.
3.5 out of 5 dated stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
Spoilers ahead.
Spoiler
In chapter three, the narrator, an invalid, comes to stay at his brother's in Cornwall, England, soon after the end of World War II. There he becomes a bystander and confidant during an election campaign. The story is partly his, partly that of the people who confide in him. The old-fashioned voice and setting reminded me of growing up in England in the 1960s and 1970s, later than this book, but with some of the same attitudes lingering.I liked the author's vivid sympathy and sharp understanding of her cast of characters, including Milly Burt, a woman caught in an abusive marriage, and Lady St. Loo, an elderly aristocrat, short of money but still living in a castle. The man picked to be the Conservative candidate in the election, John Gabriel, makes a fascinating central figure: at times sympathetic, at times repugnant. The chief heroine, Isabel, is striking too, in harmony with her internal life, passive to much of what's happening around her. I like the way that several of the minor characters -- including Teresa, the narrator's sister-in-law -- are given attention, moments to speak up and take on color.
3.5 out of 5 dated stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
annareadsmysteries's review
3.0
It's definitely a different side to Christie's writing - but do not go into reading this expecting a murder mystery - it's hardly a mystery as such :)
ana_bolton's review against another edition
Characters and story fails to make you invested
cimorene1558's review
4.0
Two people who should probably never have met do meet and fall in love (but definitely not like) and make each other miserable. Sounds like a terrible story, but actually isn't, mainly because the people involved aren't that simple. Agatha Christie really could write (people who say she couldn't are dorks or haven't read anything she wrote), and some of her Mary Westmacott books are the best proof of that, because they're stripped of the Poirot foibles and so on. Don't get me wrong, I adore the Poirot foibles, but they do get in the way of people who wish to judge the divine Agatha!